Autopilot system for regulating power production and consumption

Valmet's autopilot solution Valmet DNAe Energy Balance Optimizer controls fleet of production units to meet the requirements of balancing energy usage and production. The main goal is to respond to the new market demands resulting from the shift in trading periods from one hour to 15 minutes. At the same time, the solution significantly reduces the need for operators to manually adjust production multiple times per hour. 

The solution provides real-time optimization, precise power control, and intelligent imbalance minimization. It empowers customers to maximize profitability, enhance grid stability, and seamlessly adapt to shifting market conditions.

With Valmet DNAe Energy Balance Optimizer, energy producers and consumers can efficiently manage production, minimize imbalances, and contribute to a more stable, reliable electricity market. 

The optimized and confirmed production plans are received from the energy management system as time series by the Top Level Automation system and are presented in a table. Additionally, the offered and confirmed reserve market capacities are also displayed in the same table. The final setpoint for the local load controller in the DCS is calculated as the sum of the individual control features. Architechture has been designed applying NIS2 requirements for integrations and user interface.

Optimized production plan execution

The Valmet DNA Energy Management system (EMS) optimizes production plans against electricity markets.

The Valmet DNAe Energy Balance Optimizer controls the plant’s production in real time based on confirmed energy market trades and production plans from EMS, ensuring optimal production management.  

Precise net electrical power control

To maintain grid stability, Valmet DNA Power Balance Optimizer ensures that each unit’s net electrical power (at the grid connection point) remains at its setpoint.

This is achieved by controlling the unit’s gross electric power setpoint example through active turbine electric power controllers and electric boiler load controllers, ensuring smooth and reliable operation.

Intelligent imbalance minimization

The Valmet DNAe Energy Balance Optimizer continuously adjusts unit load setpoints to minimize total electric power imbalance for every 15-minute trading period.

A real-time economic algorithm calculates the necessary correction (MW) for the remaining time and dynamically allocates adjustments to production units based on their momentary costs.

This approach optimizes efficiency, reduces imbalance costs, and enhances responsiveness to market changes. 

Reserve market integration

The Valmet DNAe Energy Balance Optimizer supports automated offering and control for a wide range of reserve products maintained by Fingrid, including: 

• mFRR – Manual Frequency Restoration Reserve
• aFRR – Automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve
• FCR-N – Frequency Containment Reserve (Normal Operation)
• FCR-D – Frequency Containment Reserve (Disturbances)
• FFR – Fast Frequency Reserve

By integrating these reserve capabilities, the system empowers energy producers and consumers to capture additional revenue streams while supporting national grid stability.